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Venice's Carnivale Sweets: Frittelle

Carnivale begins tomorrow (February 26, 2011), Venice the city was putting on her best clothes and getting ready.  One of the city's traditional Carnivale sweets is a fried pastry, the yummy frittelle.  Resembling a doughnut, these scrumptious sweets come in several tasty varieties.

The most traditional Venetian version incorporates currants or raisins and orange peel into a heavier dough that is fried.  However, bakeries are filled with the decadent treats in a range of tempting flavors including apple and cinnamon.  There is also a lighter, filled variety (much like a cream puff, but yummier) which may be filled with chantilly cream, chocolate, ricotta cheese, or even Nutella. 

Other parts of Italy also enjoy Frittelle with regional differences.  Check out Divina Cucina's recipe for the Tuscan version:  Frittelle di Riso (Rice Fritters). 

And the City of Venice provides an easy recipe for the traditional Frittelle as well as another Canivale treat, Galani:  Frittelle e Galani. 

Headed to Venice for Carnivale?  Be sure to make time for a cafe and a Frittelle during your visit! 

Getting ready to go back to Italy - Can't Wait

Neither can the dogs ! We miss it so much. Looking forward to meeting everyone in April for our first course this year ! Yahay !

Flying Cocker Spaniel

The new PROUD owners of this enchanting painting of our House

www.arteumbria We now own this lovely painting of our house, the beautiful setting for our inspirational painting holidays this year. The painting is by one of our tutors Mark Kelland !

Trying to be bi-lingual !

Dual Language Article - L'Inno di Mameli

Italy turns 150 this year and we decided to practice “la bella lingua” learning more about the Inno di Mameli, the national anthem. Try reading and translating the Italian version first then check with the English one. You can also practice singing the anthem watching the video with subtitles or sing along with the Campioni del Mondo, the Italian football team that won the world championship in 2006.

               

L'Inno di Mameli (Mameli's Hymn) is the national anthem known also as Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), from its opening line.

Goffredo Mameli, a 20-year-old student and patriot, wrote the lyrics in the autumn of 1847 in Genoa, during the struggle for unification and independence of Italy, and only two months later in Turin another Genoese, musician Michele Novaro, composed the music. The hymn became immediately popular with the “newly made Italians”, enjoying widespread popularity throughout the Risorgimento and following decades.

However, after the unification of Italy in 1861, 150 years ago, Italy’s official national anthem was the Marcia Reale, the Royal March (or Fanfara Reale), the official hymn commissioned by Carlo Alberto di Savoia of the royal house of Savoy in 1831.

The Marcia Reale remained the Italian national anthem until Italy became a republic in 1946. On October 12, 1946, Il Canto degli Italiani was provisionally chosen as the country's new national anthem and only 60 years later, in 2005 a law was finally passed to turn it into the official one.

Over the past few years, however, many people expressed critical views on the Inno di Mameli, claiming that the melody is not as authoritative as the German Anthem composed by Haydn or the British “God Save the Queen”. The most common alternative indicated by Italians is “Va Pensiero”, which is a chorus from the third act of Nabucco (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi.

Few people know that great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi himeself, in his Inno delle Nazioni (Hymn of the Nations), composed for the London International Exhibition of 1862, chose Il Canto degli Italiani – and not the Marcia Reale – to represent Italy.

Below you find the complete text of the original poem written by Goffredo Mameli and a brief explanation regarding the meaning of each stanza.

Brothers of Italy,
Italy has awoken,
with Scipio's helmet
binding her head.
Where is Victory?
Let her bow down,
For God has made her
Rome's slave.

CHORUS:

Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called!
We were for centuries
Downtrodden and derided,
because we are not one people,
because we are divided.
Let one flag, one hope
gather us all.
The hour has struck
for us to join together.

CHORUS

Let us unite and love one another,
Union and love
Show the people
The way of the Lord.
Let us swear to free
Our native soil;
United under God,
Who can defeat us?

CHORUS

From the Alps to Sicily,
Legnano is everywhere;
Every man has the heart
and hand of Ferruccio
The children of Italy
Are all called Balilla;
Every trumpet blast
sounds the Vespers.

CHORUS

Mercenary swords,
they're feeble reeds.
The Austrian eagle
Has already lost its plumes.
The blood of Italy
and the Polish blood
It drank, along with the Cossack,
But it burned its heart.

CHORUS

In the first stanza Italy, ready for war, is wearing the helmet of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , referring to his victory in the battle of Zama, which marked the end of the Second Punic War against the Carthaginians. In the second stanza, the divisions of Italy are blamed for the lack of respect the country faced throughout the centuries.

The third stanza is an invocation to God to protect the loving union of the Italians struggling to form their unified nation once and for all, the fourth recalls popular heroic figures and moments of Italian independence such as the Vespri siciliani, the riot started in Genoa by Balilla and the battle of Legnano. The last stanza of the poem refers to the part played by Habsburg Austria and Czarist Russia in the partitions of Poland, linking its quest for independence to the Italian one.

L'Inno di Mameli (Inno di Mameli) è l'inno nazionale italiano conosciuto anche come Fratelli d'Italia, dal suo verso di apertura.

Goffredo Mameli, uno studente e patriota di 20 anni, scrisse il testo nell'autunno del 1847 a Genova, durante la lotta per l'unificazione e l'indipendenza dell'Italia, e solo due mesi dopo a Torino, un altro genovese, Michele Novaro musicista, ha composto la musica. L'inno è diventato subito popolare fra “i nuovi italiani", godendo di grande popolarità durante tutto il Risorgimento e nei decenni successivi.

Tuttavia, dopo l'unificazione d'Italia nel 1861, 150 anni fa, l'inno nazionale ufficiale in Italia era la Marcia Reale (o Fanfara Reale), l'inno ufficiale commissionato da Carlo Alberto di Savoia della casa reale di Savoia nel 1831.

La Marcia Reale è rimasto l'inno nazionale italiano fino a quando l'Italia divenne una repubblica nel 1946. Il 12 ottobre 1946, Il Canto degli Italiani fu scelto provvisoriamente come nuovo inno nazionale del paese e solo 60 anni dopo, nel 2005, una legge fu finalmente approvata per trasformarlo in quello ufficiale.

Negli ultimi anni, tuttavia, molte persone hanno espresso delle critiche verso l’ Inno di Mameli, sostenendo che la melodia non è autorevole come quella dell'inno tedesco composto da Haydn o il britannico "God Save the Queen ". L'alternativa più comune indicata dagli italiani è "Va Pensiero", il coro dal terzo atto del Nabucco (1842) di Giuseppe Verdi.


Poche persone sanno che proprio il grande compositore italiano Giuseppe Verdi, nel suo Inno delle Nazioni, composto per l'Esposizione internazionale di Londra del 1862, scelse Il Canto degli Italiani - e non la Marcia Reale - per rappresentare l'Italia.

Qui di seguito trovate il testo completo del poema originale scritto da Goffredo Mameli e una breve spiegazione riguardante il significato di ogni strofa.

Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.

CORO:

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò!
Noi fummo da secoli
calpesti, derisi,
perché non siam popolo,
perché siam divisi.
Raccolgaci un'unica
bandiera, una speme:
di fonderci insieme
già l'ora suonò.

CORO

Uniamoci, amiamoci,
l'unione e l'amore
rivelano ai popoli
le vie del Signore.
Giuriamo far libero
il suolo natio:
uniti, per Dio,
chi vincer ci può?

CORO

Dall'Alpi a Sicilia
Dovunque è Legnano,
Ogn'uom di Ferruccio
Ha il core, ha la mano,
I bimbi d'Italia
Si chiaman Balilla,
Il suon d'ogni squilla
I Vespri suonò.

CORO

Son giunchi che piegano
Le spade vendute:
Già l'Aquila d'Austria
Le penne ha perdute.
Il sangue d'Italia,
Il sangue Polacco,
Bevé, col cosacco,
Ma il cor le bruciò.

CORO

Nella prima strofa l'Italia, pronta per la guerra, indossa l’elmo di Publio Cornelio Scipione l'Africano, riferendosi alla sua vittoria nella battaglia di Zama, che segnò la fine della Seconda Guerra Punica contro i Cartaginesi.
Nella seconda strofa, le divisioni dell’Italia sono indicate come la causa della mancanza di rispetto che paese ha subito nel corso dei secoli.


La terza stanza è un'invocazione a Dio per proteggere gli Italiani che lottano per unificare la loro nazione una volta per tutte, il quarto ricorda figure eroiche popolari e momenti relativi all’ indipendenza italiana come i Vespri siciliani, la rivolta iniziata a Genova dai Balilla e la battaglia di Legnano. L'ultima strofa della poesia si riferisce al ruolo svolto Austria asburgica e dalla Russia zarista nella spartizione della Polonia, collegando la sua ricerca di indipendenza a quella italiana.

• Dual Language
 
• Italian Language

Life Model for our April Course - 1 place left !!! www.arteumbria.com

Bridget, our fabulous model for April 13 course. We all can't wait - Sun, Swimming and Painting !

Wet Rainy Typical Brittany Day !

Can't wait to get back to Italy in a couple of weeks !

I HAVE THE 2 BEST TUTORS IN THE WORLD FOR APRIL COURSE

I really do think I have the two best tutors for the forthcoming April Course ! Only 2 places left so don't leave it too long to make up your mind to book. Just think what you will be missing - AND we've got a fabulous Life Model too !!!

Andy James

Mark Kelland

Life Class on the April course !

Pastel Sketch by Mark Kelland

Thrilled to have a fabulous model on our April course !

Mark Kelland's website

http://www.wix.com/markkelland/mark-kelland

Romantic Italian Recipe - St Valentin ! Don't forget guys !

Published: Feb 10th, 2011

Location: Venice | Topic: Recipes

With Saint Valentine approaching we decided it was time to prepare a Romantic Italian Recipe for our readers: Capesante Gratinate....for two people only!

Ingredients

* 1kg romance
* 4 scallops
* 500gr imagination
* 4 tablespoons bread crumbs
* 750gr creativity
* 1 spoon chopped fresh parsley
* 1 spoon grated Parmesan
* 2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
* 2 glasses Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOC

Procedure:

Pour yourself a glass of prosecco, take a sip and, while the perlage is tickling your pallet, close your eyes and imagine to be standing on the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

Listen to the sound of water lapping against the palazzi, the distant noise of vaporetti mixing with the voice of gondoliers singing romantic songs. You are in the most romantic place in the world!

As you open your eyes, take another sip of prosecco and walk towards your fridge, but be creative!

The kicthen counter is just the stand of a fruit vendor in Rialto’s market, the chairs are other customers waiting in line and the prosecco will do the rest ;-) !


Get the scallops out of the fridge. While you clean and wash them you are obviously just looking at the fish monger near the Gran Canal doing it for you, like in the video below.

Remove the mussels and rinse with cold water. Wash the shells thoroughly and pat dry. This is the time to pre-heat the oven and put the most romantic Italian music you have in your collection on. Puccini’s Nessun Dorma from Turandot is a never-fail classic.

Mix all the remaining ingredients, place the scallops back in the shells and sprinkle with the bread crumbs mixture. Pour a little olive oil on each shell and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C° for 15 minutes.

...let the magic begin, you know how the recipe ends!

If you don't want to queue for 5 hours this is fabulous !

This is a fabulous link http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

The Rococo Gardens - Painswick - for all you Galanthophiles !

Mark Kelland, one of our tutors, also teaches watercolour classes at the dreamily beautiful Rococo Gardens in Painswick. Check them out, http://www.rococogarden.org.uk/EventsCourses/LearningAtRococoGarden.aspx and also see a link to Arte Umbria ! www.arteumbria.com

www.arteumbria.com February Newsletter !

Ti Amo - How to say 'I love you' in the beautiful Italian language !

Even when describing a tragedy like the one of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta punished together in hell for their adultery, ‘la bella lingua’ in the hands of poet Dante Alighieri is simply beautiful!

So what about the language common people use today to express love and romance?

The first interesting point is that Italians distinguish clearly between romantic passionate love and love for friends and families. Amore is a word exclusively dedicated to your lover and Ti Amo leaves no space for doubts or questions about one’s feelings. In a country where love and passion usually go hand in hand, the possessive Amore MIO (my love) is very common.

Ti voglio bene (which we could translate with “I am fond of you”) is the appropriate expression to use with children, parents, friends and pets. But it is not unusual for lovers to say both as a way to express passion and care for each other.

Besides Amore, the most common expression to say Honey are:

Caro/Cara
Tesoro or Tesoro mio
Gioia or Gioia mia
Vita mia
Cuoricino

You can also say:

Sei l’amore della mia vita
Io non vivo senza te
Ti amo con tutta me stessa/tutto me stesso
Ti amo con tutto il cuore

….and if your date is successful: Italians make love WITH YOU not to you :

Vorrei fare l’amore CON te

Dante's Inferno Canto V

Benigni

Best Chef in the World

It was a real pleasure to find out that the International Academy of Gastronomy in Paris awarded Massimo Bottura the title of Best Chef of the Year. Massimo has received several awards in Italy and around the world, but this prize is particularly welcome has it recognizes the work and achievements of modern Italian cuisine.

Bottura's cuisine has evolved over these past few years in a real crescendo. Simple tastes, textures and look, combined in the name of top quality products, respect for producers and creativity. Massimo creates real works of art which are his interpretation of his beautiful Emilia Romagna, multi-dimensional paintings that you can admire and enjoy with all your senses.

It's a bit of a 'hoik' from our house, but good to know that Italian cuisine is recognised as THE BEST !

Bravo Massimo e grazie.

Tutor Andy James at the Mall Galleries, London

Andy will be showing one of his paintings in a exhibition at the Mall Galleries this year.  Celebrating the 50th Year of the Federation of British Artists. His painting will be alongside artists such as Sickert, Orpen and Sargent !!! www.arteumbria.com

9 - 19 February 2011
10am - 5pm daily, including weekends 
(closes 1pm on Thursday 17 February)